Talking photographs

Posted on March 1, 2010

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Talking Photos : Fotobabble and Wallwisher

This task involves students adding a recorded commentary to a photo using a web service called Fotobabble. Fotobabble is not the only application which allows you to add sound to a photo, but it’s probably the quickest and most user-friendly that I have seen so far. Of course, if what you’re thinking about is more elaborate project work, then Voicethread is probably a better bet. However, if you’re looking for a short visual-based speaking task which you can set up and explain in a couple of minutes, this might be just the answer. For this activity, I’ve decided to make the sharing part really easy too by suggesting the use of Wallwisher, click on the link below to see how this might look. Hope you find the task useful!

>>> Link to example talking photo viewed in Wallwisher

Recording a commentary with Fotobabble

  • Go to http://www.fotobabble.com and Sign Up
  • Click on Create, give your photo a Title and browse to your chosen photo on your hard drive – as of yet there is no integration with online photo libraries such as Flickr or Picasa.
  • Select Public or Private as your viewing option and click on Create

Upload a photo

  • Allow the application access your computer’s microphone and click on Record to start recording your voice. The maximum length of a recording is 1 minute.
  • If you’re not happy with your first recording, simply click on Record again to have another go.
  • Click on Save when you’ve finished.

Record a commentary

  • You now have the option of sharing your talking photo on a social networking site or pasting the embed code directly into a blog or web page. However, if you like having everything in one place, why not create a Wallwisher and get your students to post their talking photos all on the same web page?

Sharing your talking photo

Creating a Wallwisher

  • Go to http://www.wallwisher.com and Register. You will be taken to an editable web page.
  • Select your preferences (URL, viewing/posting options) and give your wall a title and background theme.
  • Click on Done in the bottom right corner.

Creating a Wallwisher

  • When your students want to add their talking photo, they simply double-click anywhere on the wall. An editable ‘sticky’ note will appear in which they should add their name (where it says Anonymous), a short message and the the URL to their Fotobabble talking photo.

Talking photo viewed in Wallwisher

What your photos could talk about

The sky, or your imagination, is the limit here really. There are endless possibilities. Here are a few!

  • A treasured possession
  • Your favourite hobby
  • Why you love your mum
  • A famous person you admire
  • Something that gets on your nerves
  • A favourite dish / a recipe
  • A favourite painting and why you like it
  • A film review or recommendation
  • The best place for a relaxing holiday
  • Explaining emotions on people’s faces
  • A local news story
  • An opinion on a global news story
  • Sell yourself (I would be the right person for this job)
  • Your room and why you like it
  • Your house, flat, home town
  • Sell something (a gadget, a house etc)
  • Your favourite view
  • The story behind a photo

Hope your students enjoy the task!

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Posted in: App Lessons